Beyond the Mask
by fevildevil
Summary: Adrien Agreste's only love is his Ladybug… until he looks at his friend Marinette. It's been over three years since he had been allowed to attend public school, and the end to his fanciful life with his friends was drawing near. They would be parting ways soon, which meant that he would have to tie up all of his loose ends quickly, and boy did he have a lot of loose ends.
1. Chapter 1

Adrien Agreste peered up from his phone as he waited for his friends to arrive, anxious to say the least. There was no reason for him to be anxious to see his friends, and therefore, it could be concluded that it was not at all what he was anxious about. His anxiety had perhaps stemmed from the contents of his phone, which he seemed to be surveying rather intently. A screen of pink and red could just be made out, and upon further inspection, it could be seen that Adrien had been looking through a set of photos on a particular website; a particular blog. If there was one thing that his friend Alya Cesaire was good at, it was sly news photography. At this moment, it was her photography skills that truly caught his attention, for in no other way could he possibly obtain photos of his Ladybug.

And in no other way could he quell his nerves.

He really didn't need Nino or his other friends to discover his unrequited love for the superheroine, but he couldn't help it if seeing Marinette made him feel just a little bit anxious. Alright, perhaps seeing his friends was causing him some anxiety.

On the very first day he had become Chat Noir and met Ladybug, he fell in love with her confidence, levelheadedness, and willingness to always do good. And it was then that he discovered within himself this flirtatious behavior that expressed his desire. He knew immediately that he wanted to be with her always and that he would do anything to keep her happy and safe. It had been well over three years since then, and he still saw in his heart that there was nothing that could tear him away from that feeling.

However, it was as of the last year or so that he began to truly wonder. His love for Ladybug in no way lessened, but his growing affection toward another did concern him.

Adrien's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Alya attempted a glance at his cell, leaning her head between his face and phone.

"Hello! What have we here…" she greeted, directing her attention to the contents on the screen. Adrien quickly stashed his cell into his pocket but he knew that it hadn't been soon enough as Alya turned to give him a very telling confused expression. He tried to smile as if what he was looking at was really no big deal but it was difficult to hide his embarrassment.

"Yo Adrien!" Nino called out, walking not far behind Alya. They had probably both just left one of their homes, since they seemed to enjoy each other's company in secluded spaces more than anything else.

"Hey Nino, Alya," he replied, waving to them. He hoped that because of Nino's presences, Alya would drop her questioning. Of course, there was no such luck. He saw a sly smile begin to stretch across her face as she pieced together why he would be looking through her blog. He had done so well to hide it for all these years but apparently had become too careless in the comfort of his friends. Quickly, he attempted to deviate from the impending topic. "Where's Marinette?" he inquired.

"Oh she'll be here," Alya replied confidently, though she still appeared to be eager to pry at his thoughts.

"Haha yea, she seemed pretty excited to go," Nino added. He shared a meaningful glance with Alya and Adrien began to wonder.

"She likes fish?" asked Adrien.

"I don't think so?" said Alya, wondering to herself as well. Although she knew full well of her best friend's intentions for the day, she could not seem to answer whether or not she liked fish. Such a trivial matter, but it frustrated her none the less.

"I think she just wanted the four of us out. I've been taking up all her time with Alya." Nino chuckled as he spoke. As happy as Adrien was for his friend's budding romance, he could sometimes be a bit oversentimental. Of course Marinette would miss her best friend, just as he would. He personally couldn't decide whether or not having Plagg to talk to drove him crazy or not. It was a benefit to not be lonely in his large home, but talking to the kwami was not always the most entertaining thing. If Marinette was missing the time she spent with her friend, he could begin to sympathize. However, he and Nino did have the opportunity to chat in the classes they shared, and he wondered if the girls did the same.

Marinette arrived not long after, approaching nervously, as if forcing herself to walk slowly. She adjusted the red bow in her shortened hair as she neared, apparently insecure about having worn it at all. Adrien waved casually as per the norm and she appeared to stiffen and look away, causing him to be concerned over whether or not his feelings would be reciprocated. It seemed to be a habit of his, falling into unreciprocated love. Well, he wasn't sure if he could call his interest in Marinette love. Maybe more of a crush. Just a small and simple case of interest. He was allowed to wonder if she liked him back. Or at all.

In fact, for a long while, he was under the distinct impression that Marinette disliked him. This was due mostly to the fact that she would hardly speak with him, but had no trouble speaking to anyone else.

Having had waited outside the aquarium, there was little time between greetings and entering the main lobby. The inside was tinted in a stereotypical blue and though there were not any tanks near the front entrance, the space had been decorated with statues and photographs of large sea life. It caught Adrien's interest to know that Marinette did in fact enjoy looking at fish as she floundered about the lobby excitedly, pointing at the models of sharks hanging in the center. Her particular favorites were the whale sharks.

"Are they whales or sharks?" Nino asked, clearly confused by their existence.

"Sharks. They're called whale sharks because they're very large," Marinette explained in a manner most matter-of-factly.

"I can tell," added Alya, raising an eyebrow while observing the model of the whale shark in comparison to the other fish. She had been certain it was a whale.

"They don't have teeth! Their mouth is a like a huge vacuum! What's so cute about them?" Nino went on.

"They don't have teeth because they filter feed! They're the most peaceful sharks and you can swim with them because they're not dangerous to humans," she gushed, clearly having dreamed of swimming with them. Adrien grinned at her excitement. It was always something to see another person talk about something they were excited about. They glowed. It was a different glow from when she spoke about fashion design but there was definitely a glow.

"How do you know so much about whale sharks?" Adrien inquired, making eye contact with her for the first time all day. She almost immediately looked away to rub the back of her head.

"I don't," she confessed, blushing. "That's all I know about them."

Their group walked through the aquarium with fastened looks of awe. The tanks they viewed were enormous and many of the life living in them well beyond the imagination. Both Adrien and Marinette were well aware to give the love birds their space and did their best to keep each other in good company. But even after having known each other for three years, Marinette still seemed to have problems speaking with him. It was painful to realize her ever present discomfort in being around him, even after three years of having been acquainted. He tried his best not to look at her too often but found himself doing so anyway, trying to check up on her and gauge her expressions. She was frantic. Or rather, frantically looking around for something to do beyond aimlessly wandering. Not that there had been anything wrong with aimlessly wandering.

"Look, there's a guided tour of the Deep Sea exhibit!" Marinette cried, pointing at a sign on the far wall. Adrien wasn't sure if she was truly interested in the exhibit or just wanted to find something to do so they wouldn't be forced to make small talk.

"Well, we've got some time to kill before we see the shark feeding," Nino considered. He looked over Alya with an eye of interest, as if he were asking permission. "Maybe we should check it out?"

"It'll be like going into a haunted house," Alya commented after having admired the photographs advertising the display, "except creepier. Let's go." She nodded and led the way with Nino in tow and the other two left to trail behind.

The Deep Sea exhibition was nearly pitch black. The only sources of light were provided by dark blue floor lights that dimly accented the walkway. The corridor was rather narrow given that the rest of the aquarium had very large open spaces to display their sea life. The enclosed and darkened space provided a spooky and mysterious atmosphere characteristic of the deep sea. Even with an entire exhibit's worth of deep sea life, much of the ocean had still yet to be discovered.

Adrien had never really had an issue with the darkness having had night vision as Chat Noir, though he had to admit that it had been perhaps something he took for granted. As they wandered further into the darkness and beyond the light of the entrance, he couldn't help but feel shivers when he saw briefly what was in the tanks. So far, the only thing that hadn't made his skin crawl were the jellyfish.

Glancing at Marinette, he noticed that even she, who had showed obvious enthusiasm for the general aquarium experience, was a little unsettled by her surroundings. A part of him wanted to reach out and comfort her, especially when he could make out in the dim light that Nino and Alya had had a similar idea. In their own way, they seemed to be encouraging them by separating themselves. They were either silently encouraging them, or being selfish and running off on their own. Either way, he couldn't be sure what to do. He couldn't be certain that Marinette would be comfortable with his taking her hand, nor could he be certain of his whole hearted and pure intentions. He didn't want to confuse her or himself with such a small action when he couldn't even be certain that he liked her. Well, perhaps he was certain that he liked her, but he wasn't sure if he'd date her. Dating her would take him away from his Ladybug and he could not bring himself to sway from his loyalty to her. Eyeing the silhouette of her hand however, it was tempting. Regardless of his restraint, Marinette seemed to have ideas of her own as she scooted closer to him in search of a sense of security in the darkness.

He didn't have much more time to consider when a man jumped out from the darkness, only to be noticed because of the bright light that hung from the top of his hat. The light hung from a wire that protruded from the middle of his head and bobbled just above the man's eyes. It resembled a famous fish whose name Adrien could not place.

"Welcome to the deep sea!" the man began. "My name is Peter and I will be your guide through the exhibit." Notably, Marinette perked up when Peter appeared. Her want of general knowledge regarding these creatures befuddled Adrien, though he could perhaps understand the general want of knowledge. She could just make out her silhouette in the glow of the room, and particularly appreciated it when she turned ever so slightly toward the tanks that gleamed a blue that nicely emphasized the blue of her eyes. Thinking about it, he seemed to have a taste for women with blue eyes, remembering that Ladybug also possessed the striking color. Adrien returned from his thoughts when Marinette looked excitedly toward him, checking to see if he was taking any interest himself. "Ninety-eight percent of ocean life lives on, or just above the ocean floor and most of it is generally undiscovered. And yet what we have here at the aquarium is still not all we've seen." It was not at all that he disliked fish and the splendor of life in the ocean, though perhaps the same could not be said for deep sea life, but he didn't believe that he could ever match the level of enthusiasm Marinette showed for them. Perhaps it should be clarified that Marinette was a most enthusiastic person, regardless of the topic of fish. And that it was not because of the particular topic that she was enthused, rather that she enthused most easily. Not that that was a bad thing.

"Many deep sea fish have life spans of an average 30 years! And some, like the orange roughy over here, can live as long as 150 years." The fish he pointed out in one of the larger tanks was roughly as long as Adrien was wide and was a reddish orange color. The fish was actually rather ordinary looking, considering the exhibit they were in, but there was something about the fish's large black eyes and unnecessarily large mouth that made Adrien feel just a little bit uncomfortable. "They grow slow, mature late, and reproduce very little," Peter continued. "However, all of these guys live so particularly in their undisturbed deep sea environment that they're more often prone to extinction." It was growing more and more difficult to listen to Peter's spiel. Obviously, the man was rather fanatical about deep sea life, which made the job particularly appropriate for him, but Adrien could not help but be completely distracted by the constant proximity of his friend as she drifted nearer to him with ever sway in her step. Her eyes were preoccupied with staring at the fish and she seemed to be unconsciously drawn to him; a belief of his which he hoped to be true. And yet still, regardless of that belief, their arms grazed one another. It was his own silent accomplishment that she did not flinch away from him. He often thought that Marinette disliked him because of how little she spoke with him and how often she ran from him. And yet he knew of what she could normally be like when he had seen her speak to any other of their peers.

Not that it mattered.

Because it's not as if he liked her all that much. Her feelings were her own. And if she truly disliked him, she would not be here today. Or perhaps it was her way of showing how much she loved her friend. Regardless of her feelings, he had his Ladybug. It was probably best that Marinette didn't reciprocate.

Despite what was best, it was not as if he could help but still wonder. He could not help but hope and perhaps be even a little bit curious. He was a cat after all.

 **Author's Note:** All deep sea facts from this chapter are from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition website. All facts about whale sharks are from Wikipedia.

Thank you for reading my first attempt at a Miraculous Ladybug fic! For all of those following Urging Merger, I must apologize for starting a new fic without having finished my last one… I promise you I haven't given up on it! I have a lot planned for this fic and I'm excited to get it started, so thank you very much for reading it and I hope to gain your support!


	2. Chapter 2

The akuma attacks always came as something of a surprise to him. It was difficult to tell whose negative emotions would cause an uproar and it was not as if he could possibly keep track of every temper tantrum ever thrown. Perhaps calling them temper tantrums had been a bit rude. Every person experienced negative emotions, whether they be anger or sadness, and was therefore subject to fall victim to Le Papillion. He was no exception to that rule and there were definitely days when he worried of being caught. He couldn't possibly leave his Lady to fight on her own, no matter how capable he already knew she was.

She had been forced to fight him in the middle of an akuma battle once before and he regretted it deeply. A part of him liked to believe that it would crush her to have to take him down, even if she had to before. At least then, he had been Chat Noir. If he had been caught by an akuma unawares while he was still Adrien, it could be potentially disastrous. Not only would it be possible that she may discover his identity (a secret he was ever more willing to disclose), but Ladybug would be without any of his help and protection. As knowing as he was of her capabilities and the fact that she was able to protect herself, he could not ignore her safety. It was clear to him that she relied on him as well, and if he were to become her enemy, she would have no one to fall back on as she had so often done in recent years. He had finally broken through some of her walls.

The exhibit was dark enough as it was in his own opinion, but apparently, according to the akuma, the cerulean lights were just too forgiving an addition. The area had been plunged into deep sea darkness with only the unnerving, disturbing, and frankly haunting faces of the sea life to accompany them. He wondered if the rest of the aquarium had been left the same way. He was quick to blame things on an akuma attack, even if there hadn't been any evidence of it thus far. For all he knew, it could very well have been some sort of bizarre black out.

In the obscurity of the exhibition, he could hear clichéd cackling and he knew he had to slip away from the crowd. His suspicious had been true and he disliked being right about them. Thankfully, the darkness provided plenty of cover. Before taking another step, Adrien hesitated and reached out in search of Marinette's hand. She must have been frightened. Unfortunately, it was likely she had been swept up in the crowd and he discovered this when he grabbed hold of a young boy instead. There wasn't much else he could do beyond searching blindly through the crowd to little avail. At least, that was what he had told his panicking brain. He wondered where she could have gone. He wondered if she was scared. He wondered if she was safe. But he didn't have time. If he wanted her safe, he had to get rid of the akuma. Hopefully his Lady was nearby to help him do so. He stumbled out of the crowd and found some space to transform, doing so as quietly as possible.

"Plagg, transform me!" he whispered harshly. He could not see his black kwami (though he could certainly smell him) but it was enough to know that his transformation sequence had begun. As Chat Noir, he was thankful for the ability to see in the dark.

Even with the assistance of night vision, he could not locate Marinette. Her safety was becoming a rather distracting matter. He had neglected to notice the panicked cries in every direction, coming from both men, women, and children alike. Beyond the screaming, he could hear her calling out to him.

"Chat Noir! Are you here?" He looked around the room in search of her. He was learning very quickly that the usefulness of his night vision in searching through large crowds was very little. She called him again and he noticed the sound of her voice was coming from somewhere above him, confusingly enough. He looked up to see that she was hanging from the string of her yo-yo as she wrapped it around a pipe in the ceiling. She was clearly waiting, unsure what she could manage in the pitch black on her own.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir yelled. The area was so congested that he had to think about how he would reach her. Normally, it would have been all too easy to use his baton to escalate himself to her, but the issue at the moment was the landing. Thankfully, she was close enough to a wall for him to wedge his staff into the side and reach out to her. She flinched when he initially touched her waist but slid into the comfort of his hold upon realizing he was near.

"Always there when I need you. And so promptly." He was thankful that he could see her coy smile. With great difficulty, they managed to stay above the rest of the patrons as they began to head towards the exit.

Off in the distance, they could make out a small, uncharacteristic light near the ceiling. Ladybug grabbed tightly onto Chat Noir and pointed vaguely toward the glow.

"Chat! Do you see that?" He looked over and nodded before remembering she couldn't see him.

"I see it!" It was the only source of light beyond the bioluminescence of the deep sea life and it had to have something to do with their akuma. There was no way he missed such a small detail in such a large scheme. In fact, looking at it for so long was interfering with Chat Noir's ability to see in the dark. So it did come as a shock when a pair of eyes and large set of teeth appeared before him, and he jerked so violently, he nearly dropped Ladybug.

"I am the Angler!" he declared, looking menacingly into Chat Noir's eyes, "and you shall all be my prey." With that, he grew nearer and snapped at the two of them. Ladybug screamed, unsure of what was happening and Chat Noir leapt away. Almost falling from the lurching motion, she offered to ride on his back instead. His center of balance much appreciated this change.

They fled the deep sea exhibit in hopes that the Angler had not yet struck the rest of the aquarium only to find that the entire building had experienced the blackout. Worst of all, only the deep sea exhibit had the benefit of bioluminescent life and outside of those walls, the aquarium was darker than ever. Chat Noir began to sweat, knowing that their ability to defeat the Angler now rested on his shoulders. He was likely the only one able to make out his own hands from the mess, and he gripped to Ladybug tightly. When she returned the strength of his grasp on his shoulders, he understood her nervousness, for there was no other reason he could think of that she would hold onto him so tightly. Despite his constant flirtatious efforts, he was, and remained to be, realistic about the return of her feelings.

Although it had not been the first time he had witnessed an akuma making use of pedestrians as zombies, it remained to be quite the hurtle in battle. Being unable to harm any of their attackers, he would be lying if he said that Le Papillion was anything but effective. If they ever found a consistent way of fighting them off, perhaps they would be of less use. The light from the top of a female angler fish's head was primarily meant to be a sense of comfort to other fish in the unforgiving darkness of the ocean, luring them into the mouths of the predator. However, given that this was an angler fish created by the evermore imaginative Papillion, this light was apparently useful for hypnosis. Half of the patrons had rather obviously become his slaves, wandering where ever his light appeared to be, while the other half ran in states of panic.

The Angler stood atop one of the tanks of the aquarium in a powerful stance and professed his plans as most of the villains tended towards.

"I will plunge the world into darkness! And then everyone will understand! Come my minions!" Adrien rolled his eyes. The zombie people were already walking toward him with no change of intention upon his words. This was ridiculous.

"This guy is so clichéd, it's _krilling_ me," he said, grinning invisibly at the lady on his back. He could practically hear her rolling her eyes, though she could not conceal the breath of air that rushed from her nose. It was enough to know that she was finding him even remotely amusing.

"Aha! There you are!" The voice came from up above and Chat Noir gazed into the light of the akuma. "Capture them, my little Guppies. Follow the light!" He was cooing at his minions as he leapt right above them. The aquarium's ceiling was made mostly of metal beams and the Angler traversed upon them. It wasn't a bad idea. But something seemed off. With every leap, the Angler readjusted and looked around, swinging the bobbing esca on his head to and fro, before deciding to leap again. It seemed to be a rather inefficient way to travel. To put it bluntly, he was slow.

Chat Noir needed to find middle ground upon which to stand. On the ground were his minions, and above was him. So it only made sense, that in order to conceal themselves to think of a plan, they would need to find somewhere in the middle. He wished dearly that he could use some sort of electronic device to illuminate a small area but thought that the risk that the Angler would find them sooner than later was too great. Chat Noir jumped from tank to tank as the Guppies pursued and thought it best to stand in the main lobby where at least some light may have poured in from the front door. It was still dark when he arrived but he at least had more places to stand, jumping along the handing figures of large sea life.

"Put me down," Ladybug ordered, already in the process of getting off his back before she had finished her sentence. She fumbled for her magic yo-yo and once in hand, threw it straight in the air. "Lucky Charm!" she yelled. He wondered how confident she was in catching whatever fell her way in such darkness. Thankfully, the yo-yo had transformed into something rather… light.

"It's a lamp shade," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. Ladybug felt around the object in search of any worthwhile properties but found none. It was as it was. It had been a while since the Lucky Charm process had been so blunt. Though to be fair, if an obvious object had not been provided, he couldn't imagine how Ladybug would have been able to formulate a plan given their dark surroundings. He wondered if such a simple thing could work.

"You can't be serious. How could you even get close enough to him?" he asked. She became silent for a while, likely taking a moment to formulate a plan of some description.

"We'll just have find some _bait_ to catch our fish." He loved it when she made puns.

"Do not fret my Lady. There are plenty of fish in the sea. You may find that you've already caught a charming catfish." She laughed. She was doing much more laughing and much less eye rolling as of late. Not that he had any complaints upon the matter.

Unable to assess her surroundings, she asked a few questions.

"Chat, how is the Angler moving?"

"Steel beams along the ceiling," he replied curtly, "But slowly. My Lady, I do not think he can see in the dark. I think he's using his light to see."

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the Angler called out to them. He hadn't a clue as to where they were. As long as they remained silent, he needn't know.

"Hmm. Is there anyway to get him down here?" Ladybug continued, ignoring him. Char Noir scanned the room again, not sure what would be of use. In his line of sight was a gaggle of Guppies and the aquarium as he has seen it upon entering. The darkness didn't change much in that regard. When he took too long to respond, Ladybug continued to speak. "Maybe we can lure him… is there anything around? Maybe a flashlight?" Honestly, he wouldn't have thought to look for one if she hadn't asked. It would not likely have been lying about but perhaps hidden. Near the front entrance, which he could see was barricaded, was the reception desk where tickets were checked, maps were handed out, and general questions were asked. The desk was large and round and was one of the few spaces that he could not see the details of.

"There might be," Chat Noir muttered, he briefly carried his Lady off to the reception desk and rummaged through it quickly, locating a large flashlight in the drawer. "I found one."

"Alright. We need to get behind something. A tank or something. Where are we?"

"Front lobby. Middle of the main desk. There aren't really any tanks. We could head back in…"

"No, this is perfect. We'll stay right here. I need you to turn that flashlight on and leave it here. The Angler will come running to the center. Then you, ma minou, will break down the metal beams." He adored her tone of voice when she recited a plan. He grinned without her knowledge, though he was certain he could hear it when he spoke.

"What a _bright_ idea my Lady." He swiftly gave her a peck on the back of her hand and jumped off to the steel supports, leaving Ladybug below. She would have specified if she had needed him to place her else where. He waited and watched as Ladybug waved and caught the attention of the Angler. It was bizarre to have her be the distraction as to opposed to it being his usual position. It couldn't be helped that she wasn't in the active position, as she was in position to do otherwise. His heart was racing while he watched the Angler draw nearer and nearer. He was sure his Lady could also see the enclosing esca. Luckily, because of his form, he could not exactly hide from them very easily, though it did not seem he had any desire to hide.

"Swim toward the light little catfish!" It was a much better pun when he had said it. At least, in his own personal opinion. "The Angler needs your Miraculouses! I need them to show the world how fantastic life under the ocean can be." Thankfully she had left the scene for a while now, hiding herself just beyond the desk and the impending steel beams. As soon as he entered the rounded reception desk, Chat waited for him to appear confused before calling upon his Cataclysm and wreaking havoc to the ceiling's supports. The beams fell eloquently, spearing the ground below and creating a barrier around the desk, trapping the Angler within. The villain stuck his head out from his cage with his hands on the bars clearly frustrated with this circumstance. He lacked the attention to notice Ladybug sneak up on him from below and slip the light shade over his esca.

The Angler panicked. The esca hung too high above his head for him to see what had been done and he reached for it without signs of success. In such a state, he ordered his minions to attack the treacherous Ladybug whom had angered him to no avail. His light was dim and the Guppies did not respond. In fact, they were slowly beginning to wake. He could not do much from his make-shift cage and screamed.

"What have you done? I will not stand for this!" Chat Noir leapt from the beams, using the hanging sea life as a way down. As soon as he was near, he slowed down to a casual stride, making a somewhat "cool" entrance into the light.

"He's almost harmless like this," said Ladybug, her hand on her hip and grinning.

"Much easier on the eyes," Chat Noir agreed.

"Would you like to do the honors, ma minou?" she asked. Chat bowed.

"It would be my pleasure." He reached into the cage, now able to look directly at the esca and crushed the little bulb within. With the flashlight back in Ladybug's hands, she located it and threw her magical yo-yo in its direction.

"You've done enough harm, little Akuma. I'm freeing you from evil!" Once in her grasp, she purified and released it with her usual farewell. "Bye-bye little butterfly." Before reaching down for the spotted lampshade, Ladybug glanced at Chat Noir with a proud expression. "Merci, Chat. I could not have done this today without you." He hoped the it was dark enough to hide the red in his cheeks he knew was present.

"Anything for you my Lady." With one last meaningful glance, she threw the lampshade in the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

 **Author's Note:** My goodness! Thank you all so much for your support. There was something of a rush of readers when I posted the first chapter and it's very encouraging to see! I can't wait to be posting more and more of these chapters. I am so incredibly happy that people are enjoying this! I'm also thrilled to see the love for the random Ladybug shorts I posted over the weekend. You are all so amazing and I'm so happy to have the support.

P.S. Sorry for the weird back and forth between French and English. I only know a few phrases but I like adding them. Hopefully it's not too confusing!

P.P.S. Also, I'm sorry to say it, but you know the drill. School is back in action, and so am I. Less time for writing, more time needed for work. Apologies!

Much love to you all.


	3. Chapter 3

Le Papillion was certainly persistent, of that, Adrien was convinced. The attacks were becoming more frequent, though Adrien could not find it in himself to complain too terribly, as they gave him the opportunity to see his lovely Ladybug. He had been equally as grateful, to his greatest confliction, to have had the luck to have remained in the same classes as Marinette. Both Nino and Alya on the other hand, had diverged into other career streams. Although they remained in the same school together, he saw less of them.

It had just so happened, that as he thought of all the classes he shared with Marinette, and how excited and confused he felt about feeling the way he did, that he had been sitting idly in the middle of one of their daily battles. He did not, however, appreciate how they had become "daily" battles. They cut heavily into his life, his curfew, his school life, his time with friends, and his time with Marinette. Not that she was not a friend of his.

"Chat!" Ladybug cried, landing next to him. He was exhausted, and being thrown onto his back by yet another akuma did not particularly make his job any easier. "Are you okay?" she asked. Ladybug held out a hand, which he took hold of and stood. "I've taken care of the little butterfly. I think we can call it a day." He might have held onto her hand for just a second too long. Or perhaps she was the one who could not let go. It was growing difficult to tell. The akumatized victim had thrown all the people of Paris about the city, and it was the intent that the Miraculous' magic would mend them all, putting them back to where they ought to be. Ladybug took hold of the jar in her hand and threw it into the air, calling upon her magic to repair what had been damaged. All around them, citizens appeared with a gust of red and black. Ladybug turned to face Chat Noir with a hearty grin of satisfaction and held out her fist.

"Bien joué!" she declared. Adrien was tired, but smiled anyway, unable to hold back when he saw his Lady so pleased.

"Bien joué," he replied, and reciprocated their traditional fist bump.

x

The following day of school did not begin well. Or rather, it did not begin well as a whole. The initial front of the day began with Adrien's coincidental, but pleasantly timed arrival at the steps of the school having matched with Marinette's. She smiled and greeted him and they walked together for the short moments. The feeling was serene and admittedly, rather blissful. Being at her side and walking with her had this calming affect on him. The aforementioned bad beginning actually began shortly after, when a distinct and rather unpleasant voice echoed the halls.

"It was all Ladybug's fault!" the voice announced confidently. Siting in the courtyard was a very unhappy, though happily pitiful, Lila Rossi. There she had been, adorned with a cast on her left leg, which had quickly been covered in signatures and positive messages of encouragement. Many a student surrounded her with eager interest in her complaints. "Right after the attack," she explained, "I was magicked back, and of course, you can never rely on a superhero to clean up after their messes, I fell down because of the clumsy placement of her silly magic and broke my leg! And it's all her fault. How could she send me back in such a wild way? I deserve a gentle treatment! Superheroes think they can get away with anything, just because they save the city. I wouldn't have even broken my leg if it wasn't for her." Adrien tried to hide a scowl at the remark. If it had not been for Ladybug, she may have never even made it home. It was rare that the magic rendered ineffective, but it had not been the fault of Ladybug. For what control did she have over the magic of the Miraculous? If Lila had been treated callously, it had not been the fault of Ladybug. Adrien turned to make a comment to Marinette, but could not even get a word out before she ran off. For what reason he did not understand. She had perhaps been upset over the comment as well? He hadn't realized how big a fan of Ladybug Marinette had been.

x

"Have you seen Marinette?" Alya asked at the beginning of lunch. In class, Marinette seemed solemn and as she had disappeared that morning, she did again immediately after class. It was unfortunate that Lila had also been interested in design and the fashion industry and they were thus subject to her constant complaints regarding Ladybug.

"I haven't," Adrien replied. "She ran out as soon as the bell rang. I thought she was going to see you."

"I can't find that girl anywhere." Alya's brows furrowed and she did another look around the school lobby. Adrien might not have known where Marinette had gone, but he had a fairly good idea.

"Did you hear Lila this morning?" he asked. Even if Alya hadn't, he thought she ought to know. She was Ladybug's biggest supporter and she might even be willing to fight for her. Maybe her fighting and supportive attitude could find and cheer up Marinette.

"No, I didn't. I ran late but I did hear about her. She's hard to miss. Like a television ad that one. Loud, annoying, and full of lies." Adrien stifled a chuckle.

"What did you hear?" In honesty, he was a bit frightened to be the one to deliver the news to her. Alya had the impression of being a very intense and invasive person, given that they were good characteristics to have as a journalist, and based on the fact that she had a sneaking suspicion that he followed her blog closely, he thought his judgement to be rather true.

"She was hurt and being dramatic," Alya replied.

"Wow, you really got lucky then. You are not going to like what you're going to hear." Adrien summarized what he had witnessed that morning, trying to stick to the facts as closely as he could, not wanting to provide miscommunication, even though he was entirely biased. Regardless of telling the truth, Lila didn't make herself out to be particularly adored in the moment.

"She said what!?" Alya screamed. Her cheeks were a bright red and she stormed out to find Lila, appearing to be in something of a hunting mood. He almost felt bad for unleashing Alya on Lila. Almost. It didn't surprise Adrien to know that Lila was the center of attention once more when they arrived in the school's courtyard. Most of their peers left for home during the lunch hours, however, the break had only just begun, and it was ample time for Lila to gather her followers.

Without needing to hear her very clearly, it was obvious that she was still going on about her broken leg. Her sympathizers this afternoon consisted mostly of the same people who had given her pity that morning, though there were definitely new faces. Without wanting to immediately cause a ruckus, the two stood idly by and listened to the blithering falsehoods. Rather, Adrien insisted on standing back while Alya stood with attitude in her posture and venom on her tongue.

"She just doesn't know what she's doing. I mean, look at her. She looks like a little kid! She should probably just leave the superheroing to real superheroes." To whom she was regarding, Adrien did not know.

"How dare you say those things about Ladybug?" Alya interrupted. She was clearly on her last straw, and had it not been for the crowd of people supporting Lila, the fact that Lila was already injured, or the fact that Alya had something of a conscience, Adrien wouldn't have been surprised if a fist fight ensued. "She is only trying to, uhm, I don't know, save Paris?" As angry as Alya was, Lila hardly flinched. There was only a moment of shock in her expression before she grinned, amused by the situation and ready to take Alya on at full force. She was a gutsy girl, Adrien had to give her that.

"Well she's not exactly doing a very good job now is she?" Lila snapped, gesturing toward her leg.

"How do we know we can even trust anything you say? You always lie! For all we know, you did it to yourself. And you're just blaming Ladybug to get more attention. And because you obviously hate her after she said you two weren't friends!" Lila pursed her lips at the remark but continued anyway.

"What does it matter if _you_ don't believe me? Other people do! They know better than to trust Ladybug with a whole city." With a self-satisfied look on her face, Lila sat back in her wheelchair, her elbows latent on the armrests and hands lax.

"She fights every day to save the people of Paris and this is how you treat her?" A mischievous grin creeped onto Lila's face. It was a look that told Adrien that she had found her trump card. It was a look that said that she knew she had won this battle. Her expression relaxed and her tone softened into something syrupy and condescending.

"Maybe that's just it Alya. Ladybug and Chat Noir have been fight _everyday_ lately, haven't they? They're _bound_ to be tired. There are _so_ many disasters happening _all_ over Paris that they can hardly keep up." Alya began to hesitate when she saw all of her peers consider Lila's point. "Maybe," she continued, "they're _so_ tired, they're starting to slip. And that can be pretty dangerous, don't you think? Maybe it's time for a new superhero. One who won't get picky about who to save, or make mistakes." At the last word, Alya leapt forward again with a retort at full force. For a second, Adrien thought she would punch her.

"And why isn't she allowed to make mistakes? She's a person too! People make mistakes all the time!"

"Yes," Lila agreed, nodding along, "but she's supposed to be responsible for all of Paris, right? I don't think she can afford to make any mistakes." It was clear that the conversation had ended, and a winner had been crowned. Unfortunately, it was not a winner that either Alya or Adrien was satisfied with. Alya turned around and stormed off, grabbing hold of Adrien's arm as she walked by. He hadn't planned on going back to the school but apparently, it was now where he was headed. He turned his head and looked back at Nathalie, whom he had initially tried to ignore. He hadn't seen her until just then, knowing that she'd be there regardless of whether or not he actively engaged in her existence. She never failed to come to get him during the lunch hour. Alya was grumbling as she dragged him, not at all open to listen to any protests that he might have had.

"Alya, I really need to go," Adrien started, attempting to ease his way out of her grasp. She was very miffed and the idea that she might take it out on him at any second scared him ever so slightly. After a second look, Adrien noticed that anger or frustration wasn't the only thing on her face. There was something different and off about the way she looked. He looked around in wonder as to what could have been affecting her, and it was then that he began to notice their whispers.

"Maybe Ladybug is evil…"

"What if she's doing it on purpose."

"She probably just hates Lila."

"Do you blame her?"

"She's allowed to make mistakes right?"

"Ladybug could have killed Lila!"

"Remember that one time she yelled at her when Lila said they were friends?"

"Lila could be lying…"

"But you _know_ Ladybug hates her."

"She's not ready to save Paris if she's going around hurting people too!"

"They're getting lazy."

"Just because magic is going to fix things, doesn't meant they can just do whatever they want."

"What kind of hero is that?"

"You've got to wonder if Chat Noir is the same way."

"Well, he does work with Ladybug."

"He's clearly in love with her."

"True. He'll do anything she says."

"Maybe they're picking who to save. Like, if they don't like you, they won't save you."

"They probably only save people when it's convenient."

"They probably only save people if it's going to be on TV!"

Adrien didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. A part of him was angry. A part of him was in shock. He had no issues with how he and Chat Noir had been drawn into their negative ideologies, but to speak so poorly of Ladybug purely because of rumors was dumbfounding to him. It might have been due to his prejudice. He needed to talk to Ladybug as soon as possible, hopefully before the rumours spread to her ears. With all this negative emotion in the school alone, he was certain a few akumas were bound to be produced. Not to mention, he was worried about his Lady. She was a strong girl but she was still a person, and people get their feelings hurt all the time. If Marinette already looked as hurt as she did as a fan, he could not even begin to imagine how his Lady would take it all.

 **Author's Note:** Hello! I'm so glad people are enjoying this. Sorry for the delay. Due to some planning, I ended up simultaneously writing chapters 3 and 4. Also, school is trying to kill me. Every time I get 2 weeks caught up on work, they drag me right back with surprise assignments. It's a wonder anything gets done.


	4. Chapter 4

The nerve of Lila! To blame Ladybug for her own clumsiness. It was beyond _her_ control how her cleansing magic worked. It was beyond her control what Lila was doing before she was abducted or what she did when she returned. Marinette wasn't sure if she felt angry or sad. It was really too early in the morning to tell.

Not only did Lila throw the blame on her, but people _believed_ her. They supported her. People who had once praised and adored Ladybug were so quick to turn on her.

Marinette could not bare to listen to her any longer and left the main lobby of the school without a word. She didn't turn to face Adrien in fear of the expression he would show her. Things had been going well with him as of late and she was coming to like him evermore. She was talking with greater ease and actually getting to know him. Obviously, she always knew how kind he was, for it was his kindness that had impacted her the most, but there was more of a playful feature to him that she had grown to like and would have only learned of by being by his side. She was coherent and comfortable, and it might have had something to do with the fact that parts of him reminded her of Chat Noir. Or perhaps that parts of Chat Noir reminded her of Adrien. But of course the morning had gone much too smoothly. Bumping into him while going to school was too happy a circumstance. All that mattered in that moment was that she couldn't stand to be in the same room as Lila for another second, and needed to leave.

She was able to find an empty workshop. A large project had just been completed and submitted and Marinette knew that this was the last place her peers would want to be. It brought back too many memories of sleepless nights. Tikki came flying out her purse as soon as she was able, a look of worry on her face.

"Marinette, you know it's not your fault" she began. "You don't need t listen to her."

"I know," Marinette replied. She was so worried she was pacing, and Tikki did not know what to do except to watch. "I know I need to be positive. I _know_ that it's dangerous for me to feel this negative. I _know_ that Lila lies." She paused to think. "But it's not Lila that's getting to me. Not really."

"Then what is?" Tikki's tone was quiet and concerning. Sometimes Marinette thought that she would have made a fantastic mother figure.

"It's just that, everyone believes her, Tikki. People believe that it was my fault. They don't even have to second guess what she says. They hate me. What's going to happen to Ladybug?" Marinette's eyes were pleading and Tikki's heart wrenched.

"Calm down Marinette! Everything will be okay. Nobody hates you! They're just going with the flow. And not everybody feels that way. There will be people that will fight for you."

"But I don't want them to fight. Fighting will only give Le Papillion more chances to send akuma to wreck havoc on Paris. And heaven knows we don't need anymore of those. We've been fighting every day as it is. There will only be chaos if they fight." Tears began to form in Marinette's eyes. "I don't know what I should do Tikki. How can I stop this?" Tikki paused to think of an answer. She perhaps was not certain she even had one.

"You can't, Marinette," Tikki said apologetically. "Once it starts, the only way to stop it is to let it take its course, or prove them wrong. If you try and convince them, they'll think you're trying to cover something up, and you're not! You have nothing to hide Marinette because you've done nothing wrong."

"But everyone thinks I did." She didn't know what else to say. She felt betrayed and there wasn't much more to the feeling. Tikki didn't know what to say either. Looking at her friend, she knew that Marinette just needed to be sad for a little while. Nothing she could say would make her feel better in this moment. She only hoped that her friends would be there for her.

Class was going to start soon. The bell would ring any second. Marinette wiped away the tiny bit of tears that managed to seep down her cheeks, and made herself somewhat presentable. The last thing she wanted was people asking her if anything was wrong. She couldn't exactly tell them, now could she?

x

Marinette regretted immediately trying to slip of the school for lunch. She had given little to no attention to the classes that morning as she was forced to heed to every word that came from Lila's mouth. She wanted to abscond from the hustle and bustle of the day, and perhaps if she had gone home and claimed to have fallen ill, she might have been able to take the day off. She had even avoided Adrien in order to leave the classroom early. But it had all been for naught. Heaven forbid this day get better.

She stood before a larger crowd, backed away from an argument that centered around the person she really didn't want to see. Marinette did her best to scoot along the edges of the crowd, avoiding detection. She just wanted to go home. She just really wanted to go home. She managed to get a fair distance before another aggressive voice presented itself. Normally, she would have left, ignoring any new intrusion of information in the crowd. However, this voice was something that, without question, caught her attention. Alya was not as grand a presence as others might have been, but above all else, she commanded a presence that drew Marinette. And given the circumstances, her presence was evermore pronounced when she confronted Lila. Marinette listened, disheartened by the loss of the battle. Lila was right of course. And Alya was increasingly loyal and loved. Marinette would never let her go. She was a blessing and even if Alya's defence was for Ladybug and not for herself, her goodness was what anchored her.

The look on Alya's face stabbed at Marinette's heart. She watched as Adrien walked away with Alya, his eyes searching the crowd that they were leaving behind. Marinette ducked away, making no obvious move to leave as of yet in fear of being noticed. It was while she was waiting that she heard them.

The whispers.

"You can't win over facts I guess."

"Even if Lila was lying, I don't think she's wrong about Ladybug."

"She has been saving Paris everyday…"

"But what would we do without her?"

"Maybe we _should_ get a new superhero."

"From where? They don't exactly grow on trees."

"Well, is it better to let Ladybug and Chat Noir start hurting people too?"

The thoughts of the crowd lingered in the air and Marinette felt that she had frozen to the floor. They meant no ill will. That much she knew. It was not as if the people here knew that Ladybug was standing inches away from them. It was no direct attack on her person. In fact, it was likely that none of these people would ever say such things to her face. They were at least kind enough for that.

She watched from the sidelines as Alya and Adrien left. There wasn't much she could do but watch, and quite frankly, she wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to anybody. She was just about to leave for home when another shrill voice entered the scene.

"Lila Rossi!" Chloé's voice echoed. Marinette was somewhat shocked to hear an echo outdoors in such a crowded space, but Chloé simply had the mannerisms.

"What do you _want,_ Chloé?" Lila asked with clear annoyance in her tone. The two of them did not particularly get along, even at the best of times.

"What is this I hear about your _lies_ about Ladybug?" Chloé asked. It wasn't much of a question as it was an accusation. Somehow, Chloé wasn't in the loop until this afternoon, but for some of the crowd, it was worth the wait in order to see what would happen next. Everybody knew Chloé was a huge fan of Ladybug, especially after the Anti-Bug incident. There wasn't much left to hide. She was sure to be _furious._

"What lies? I _never_ lie," Lila responded coolly. Chloé's eyes narrowed and she fumed. She advanced on the injured girl and pushed herself into Lila's personal space.

"You had better watch it, Lila," Chloé whispered threateningly. "Ladybug is the best superheroine the world has ever seen! And she is so much more than you will ever be. To think that you would even compare yourself to her, is appalling. _Don't_ you think I forgot that you said you were _best friends_ with Ladybug. You're just a jealous little fox who can't get what she wants! And now you're getting your little revenge because Ladybug _embarrassed_ you." Lila returned Chloé's harsh glare with a desire to retort, but with nothing to say. "My father is the _Mayor_ _of Paris_ , and _I_ am Ladybug's _biggest_ fan. If I were you, I would sew my lips shut before I do it for you." Chloé backed off with a hand on her hip and her eyes still as sharp as knives. With a huff, and call for Sabrina to follow her, she sauntered off through the crowd, her classmates backing off to make her a path.

Marinette wasn't sure what Chloé had said. In fact, nobody was. It was a conversation between Lila and Chloé alone. But whatever it was, seemed to have shut Lila up for the time being. For the first time in a very, very long time, Marinette was a little bit glad to have Chloé on her side.

x

When Marinette didn't go back to school after lunch, Alya got worried and made a call from the girl's bathroom. Marinette glanced at her phone and hesitated to pick up, eventually deciding that she could not block Alya out of her life. She couldn't act _too_ depressed.

"Marinette! Where have you been?" Alya asked.

"I went home for lunch and felt ill. So I stayed home." It was a simple explanation, though perhaps too simple for Alya to accept.

"Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?" She sounded significantly less panicked, and significantly more skeptical. Marinette coughed just once before speaking again, trying to simulate that she was a least trying to hold up her end of the lie.

"I'm fine. Really. You don't need to -."

"Adrien's been worried about you all day," Alya said. The tone in her voice was difficult to describe. It was somewhere in between teasing, concern, and frustration.

"…Really?" Marinette couldn't help but blush even slightly at the knowledge that Adrien had noticed her in such a way. It wasn't her main priority, but it was something nice to add to the pile of terrible that had been her day.

"He's the one who noticed first. Though, in my defence, you totally skipped out on seeing me all day."

"Yea, sorry about that. I've been feeling sick all morning and…" She didn't feel the need to finish her sentence. Her best friend seemed to put the pieces together on the own.

"He told me about Lila. He said you were really upset. Do you… need to talk about it?" Alya had clearly given in to dismissing the idea that Marinette could have at all been sick. They had long since moved on from that, though it was not clearly admitted.

"I really don't want to," Marinette replied.

"I'll be over after school," Alya decided. There was no discussion to be had evidently.

"Alya…!" The line had already gone dead before Marinette had the chance to get another word in. Marinette supposed that it was just time to wait. Once her friend had made up her mind about something, it was difficult to stop her. She could only wait for the knock at her door.

Alya did not even knock. Marinette's parents had likely let her in, she was far from unwelcome in their home, and Alya did not hesitate a second longer before barging into Marinette's room. That was the thing about having a best friend. Whatever was yours was theirs and vice versa, she supposed. That apparently included personal space. Marinette swivelled in her chair when she heard her friend enter. She would have been more surprised if it had not been for the racket she made on the way up the stairs. She was just about to complain about privacy when her throat seized up at the sight of an addition to the attack on her bedroom.

"Adrien!" Marinette blurted. She couldn't think of why he would be here, even though it may have been obvious. Alya hadn't mentioned it, though she wouldn't put it past her to have hidden it from her deliberately. It seemed to be her mission to try and set the two of them up. But for her information, they were doing just fine on their own and without her assistance, thank you very much. Adrien waved at her, looking as though he felt a bit intrusive, as Alya should have felt.

"Hey, we thought we would check up on you. You didn't look so good this morning," he commented. Her anxiety started to rise and she almost sent a look of panic in Alya's direction. But he was too close. He would have seen it and he was too close.

"Oh, yea. I…" She wasn't sure if she _could_ lie to him. He was witness to her morning. She could have said she was sick, which would have lined up with what she had told Alya over the phone, but her friend obviously hadn't believed her. It didn't matter what she said because the two standing before her had already figured it out. They only wanted to see if Marinette would talk about it.

"Lila gets on all of our nerves. That's just how she is," Adrien offered.

"Yea, whatever she says will just blow over. It's not like any of it is true anyway," said Alya. Marinette grinned half-heartedly at her friends' best wishes. She knew her friends were doing their best, but she also knew that they didn't know or realize that what Lila and everyone else was saying was much more personal to her than she was willing to let them understand. Adrien and Alya looked at one another, clearly worried. They didn't know what to say to help their friend. Alya approached and gave Marinette a warm hug, which she welcomed. There wasn't anything _to_ say, and Marinette knew that, but a hug felt nice, no matter the situation. It was good to know they would be there for her, even if she couldn't talk about what was wrong.

"Look, I need to do some damage control on the Ladyblog. Lila has either made an account, or her lies are spreading. Either way, she's driving me crazy. I'll just be in the other room." Alya left, leaving Adrien with Marinette alone. It hadn't even occurred to her to check on the Ladyblog, especially as she frequented it. It was for the best then that it had slipped her mind, particularly if damage control was stressing Alya out as much as it was. There was a good chance she wouldn't like what she saw. Her leaving the room was a fairly good indication that she didn't want Marinette to see.

Adrien came around to sit on Marinette's bed and wordlessly asked her to join him. It took her a second to comply, but she eventually did, leaving just a little less than a foot of space between the two of them. She knew that Alya had some how plotted to have the two of them alone together. Even in Marinette's times of need, she always managed to incorporate her love life into the mix.

He didn't say anything for a while, likely unsure of what to say. Then, he scooted over, closing the space she had created between them.

"You're… sure that you don't want to talk?" he asked. Marinette nodded. It took him a while to speak again. "I didn't realize how big a fan of Ladybug you were." She didn't respond. For the longest time, she showed disinterest in the subject, all in order to avoid being in the same place at the same time. She pretended to be scared, and pushed herself away from any scene of an attack. Not to mention it felt very weird to be obsessing over her own alter ego. Her lips tightened at his comment for a lack of conversation. "She is pretty great. I'd have to agree." Her attention piqued. "So brave, and confident. Not to mention hard working, fighting akumas every day." He paused. "I think she's amazing." He turned to face her, a warm smile on his face.

She couldn't help but glow just a little bit at the thought that Adrien kind of liked her. She liked who she was when she was Ladybug. It wasn't the same, but it was something. She wanted to thank him, but wondered if that would sound weird. Instead, she smiled back at him and looked down at her lap. Marinette made a quick mental note to thank Alya later.

She couldn't have felt more grateful to her friends.

 **Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for the support on all the Miraculous Ladybug work I've been producing. It's really been fulfilling! I enjoyed the dialogue thoroughly in both this chapter and the last chapter so I hope you like it!

I also finished this chapter about 5 or more hours before I posted it because I worked on it at work instead of doing real work and then just forgot... augh.


End file.
